Swans

New York no wave/post-punk group Swans come to The Arches on Sat 24th May, as part of a large scale US and UK tour celebrating the release of new album To Be Kind on Young God Records this May.

Swans were formed by Michael Gira in 1982, and quickly became renowned for their punishing onslaughts of sound, extreme volume levels, and the brutal growls and shouts of Gira’s vocals. From the much heralded Children of God album in 1987 to their ultimate statement, Soundtracks For The Blind in 1997, they managed to range from mechanical proto-industrial rock, to atmospheric folk, to gentle acoustic tracks, before disbanding in ’97.

In 2010, a new track appeared on Swans’ Myspace with the word “SWANS ARE NOT DEAD.” Live dates followed, finally delighting fans with a new album, My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky, in September that year, and The Seer in 2012. To Be Kind, released on 12 May 2014, features several special guests, including Little Annie, St. Vincent, labelmate Cold Specks and Bill Rieflin.

Swans infamous and powerful live show was described by the New York Times as “an act of generosity”, by Time Magazine as “a force that jolts you into focus” while Spin.com asked “are Swans the best live band in the world right now?” It was on this recent 2012/2013 tour, Gira explains, that “a good portion of the material for this album was developed live”.